MBE Advance Access published online on January 12, 2005
Molecular Biology and Evolution, doi:10.1093/molbev/msi085
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1 Department of Entomology, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, U. K.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Transposed copies of mitochondrial DNA into the nucleus (numts) are widespread, but to date they have not been described from the Coleoptera (beetles). Here we report the discovery of a numt derived from a mitochondrial ribosomal RNA gene in Australian tiger beetles (genus Rivacindela). The loss of function of the numt was confirmed by the high proportion of transversions, numerous non-compensatory substitutions in stem regions, and by large deletions in functionally important sequences. Phylogenetic analysis of orthologous numt sequences was performed together with the corresponding mtDNA lineage for a study of origination and establishment of the transposed copies in closely related populations and species. All numt sequences were strongly supported to be monophyletic, indicating a single origin of this element. However, populations were polymorphic for the presence of the numt, and phylogenetic trees based on the numt sequences showed inconsistencies with the corresponding mtDNA phylogeny, suggesting slower processes of fixation compared to the mtDNA sequences. In a side-by-side comparison with their mtDNA sister lineage, the nucleotide substitution rate of 1.66 x 10-8 substitutions/site/year in the numts was approximately equal to the average rate of mtDNA in this group, but substantially higher than previous estimates of neutral nuclear rates in vertebrates. The numt Clade was affected by several deletions, but no insertions, with estimates of nucleotide loss exceeding the rate of nucleotide substitutions by approximately five times. The young age of the Rivacindela numt Clade, their absence in species outside of a narrow lineage of related individuals, and the high rate of deletions suggests that insertions do not persist in this group, which is consistent with the view that comparatively small genomes as those of Coleoptera harbor fewer mitochondrial and other nuclear pseudogenes.
Accepted January 3, 2005
Research Article
Complex Pattern of Coalescence and Fast Evolution of a Mitochondrial rRNA Pseudogene in a Recent Radiation of Tiger Beetles
2 Department of Biological Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, Berkshire SL5 7PY, U.K.
Joan Pons, E-mail: joap{at}nhm.ac.uk
Abstract 
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  S. K. Behura Analysis of Nuclear Copies of Mitochondrial Sequences in Honeybee (Apis mellifera) Genome Mol. Biol. Evol., July 1, 2007; 24(7): 1492 - 1505. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. Pamilo, L. Viljakainen, and A. Vihavainen Exceptionally High Density of NUMTs in the Honeybee Genome Mol. Biol. Evol., June 1, 2007; 24(6): 1340 - 1346. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 F. Rodriguez, J. Albornoz, and A. Dominguez Cytochrome b Pseudogene Originated from a Highly Divergent Mitochondrial Lineage in Genus Rupicapra J. Hered., May 1, 2007; 98(3): 243 - 249. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. Meier, K. Shiyang, G. Vaidya, and P. K. L. Ng DNA Barcoding and Taxonomy in Diptera: A Tale of High Intraspecific Variability and Low Identification Success Syst Biol, October 1, 2006; 55(5): 715 - 728. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. Pons, T. G. Barraclough, J. Gomez-Zurita, A. Cardoso, D. P. Duran, S. Hazell, S. Kamoun, W. D. Sumlin, and A. P. Vogler Sequence-Based Species Delimitation for the DNA Taxonomy of Undescribed Insects Syst Biol, August 1, 2006; 55(4): 595 - 609. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|